July 1st
Woke up this morning disappointed that the trip has been paused... Not sure how quick or long of a fix this is going to be. How quick can you get a chain for a bike in the middle of Wyoming?
Either way I was up and out the door of the hotel early to try to get to Valley Motor Honda in Sheridan, WY (only about a 40 mile drive) Driving when your chain is hitting your tire constantly is not a good feeling... You start thinking about how many more times can your chain rip up the side of the tire before the tire blows out...
View Buffalo, WY to Sheridan, WY in a larger map
Once I got to Valley Motor Honda I ended up meeting a man behind the Parts counter, who I would later come to know as Ken Weber. He was great from the start in trying to get me back on the road as quick as possible. The original goal basically was to just take some links out of the chain. In order to do that you need to get a properly sized Master Link to join both ends back together.
After numerous phone calls and talking about other options like possibly just replacing the chain I left to go get a coffee… It was probably 90+ degrees out and I was wearing my gear and carrying my tank bag (which has all of my valuables). By the time I was done the 3 block walk I was already sweating.
Since I was stuck in town for some amount of time I decided I should probably get a haircut... Come to find out it's not the easiest thing to do on a Monday in Sheridan. I must have walked 8 blocks in one direction and every time all the salons or barber shops were either closed, booked, or the hairdresser wasn't in yet. So I turned around and walked another 7 blocks. By this time I am sweating pretty good.
I happened to run across a Salon I must have missed when I was looking because I walked in and asked if they had time for a haircut… Unfortunately they didn't but they did tell me to stop back by or call later… On top of this, the lovely lady saw how much I was sweating and forced me to take a water from her... I told her I could just walk to the convenience store but she was not having that as an answer.. SO Sweet of her!
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| Bank of Commerce- built in 1882 (now a lawyers office) |
During my walk along Main Street and the surrounding area I took a lot of pictures of old architecture. Something about the past and how they built things back then and imagining what tools they had to build with at those times has always been interesting.
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| J.C. Penney? Yup doesn't look like the one at the Pheasant Lane Mall.. |
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| built in 1907 |
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| Old car dealership |
I made my way back to check with Ken about my repair options and by this point it was still before noon. I got back and the closest place to get a chain was 300 miles away in Billings Montana & it wouldn't arrive until the next day. I ended up calling AF1 Racing ( a giant Aprilia dealership in Texas) with some questions and they suggested I change my sprockets (basically gears) too. So I ended up ordering my chain and sprockets from them because Ken couldn't get me the sprockets.... 1 day shipping = $80
At this point I started to find a cheap hotel room and then Ken actually left work and gave me a ride to the hotel so that I didn't have to lug all of my gear (which feels like it weighs a ton when you walk a mile).
Ken and I had talked a lot today about my trip and about his town. I ended up finding out a couple of things this town is known for... The Mint Bar, which has been featured in a few movies and King's Ropes & Saddles, which was and is world reknown for its quality of ropes and saddles. In fact there is a King's Rope Museum which houses tons of old artifacts from the earlier days.
So I freshened up at my hotel and then walked around the town to check things out.
First stop.. King's Ropes Museum
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| Knife Sharpener |
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| Gold Pan and minerals that contained gold |
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| Old blasting supplies - dynamite, blasting handbook, blasting caps, and detonator |
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Miners lunchbox. Mining was a big industry in the west.
Gold, Copper, Silver, Coal and other important minerals have been
mined all around the U.S. |
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| Old Catalog Book from a company that sold all sorts of supplies |
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| Miners and their horses (remember there were no cars) |
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Sioux Indian Moccasins (shoes)
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King's Ropes
In every color... |
Next Stop... The Mint Bar
This place was real interesting... I swear it hasn't been touched at all in many many decades....
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Yes there were plenty of animals skulls, stuffed animals, and trapping
supplies on display |
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As well as Ranchers logos. Every Ranch has it's own sign that is
seared (burned) or tattoed onto all of their animals. I did notice on some cattle during
my drive the other day that some had tags around their ears... I wonder if this is the "new" way
off labeling a Ranch's cattle or herd??? |
Forced Stops.....
One thing I have noticed along this trip is just how much trains are really still used for shipping of materials across the U.S. Every 15 minutes it seemed another train would stop traffic in Sheridan. Their was only one road that actually went under the tracks... and for the most part only locals knew of it so traffic could get really backed up....
Something amazing.....
It was getting to be around 7 PM and I had missed a phone call but I checked the message. It was Ken Weber just calling to check up on me and see if I wanted to come spend time with his family... OUT OF THIS WORLD!! That was awesome.. I was already out getting dinner so his wife and him came and met me and we just talked for a while. Then they drove me around sight seeing afterwards!! Can't ask for more out of human kind!!! Ken dropped me off at my hotel room and I made him wait so I could give him and his wife a gift. I had stopped at a winery in the wine region of New York (along Lake Erie) and I had picked up two bottles of wine to give as gifts.... Well there was no one else I would rather give one to... Thank You Weber family!!!
Off to bed and hope my parts arrive early in the day not later in the day!!
Thanks Valley Motor Honda (especially Ken Weber)
Thank you to all of you at the Hi-Lites Salon (even the guests that I talked to while I was there)
On of the first things I encountered when enteringYellowstone was a traffic jam... 
